American Hard Rock Maple

Hard maple is strong, heavy, hard, straight-grained and fine textured.

Durability:

Compared with European beech, rock maple is about equal in bending strength and in compression along the grain. and some 15 to 20 per cent superior in hardness, resistance to shock loads and resistance to splitting.

Mechanical Properties:

Medium - Hard maple is rather difficult to work, the timber tending to cause saws to vibrate, and for cutters to ride on the wood during planing. A reduction of cutting angle to 20º assists the finishing operation particularly when curly grain is present. The timber can be stained, polished and glued satisfactorily, but it is hard to nail or screw, although these are held firmly.

Seasoning:

All types dry without undue difficulty but rather slowly, particularly rock maple.

Uses:

  • Sports goods
  • Furniture
  • Flooring
Get in Touch

Description

Hard maple is strong, heavy, hard, straight-grained and fine textured. The heartwood is light reddish-brown with deeper-coloured late-wood bands. The sapwood is white in colour, and furnishes the white maple prized for certain uses. It differs mainly from the soft maples in its greater density and firmer texture.

Additional information

Latin Name

Acer saccharum

Family Name

Aceraceae

Distribution

Found generally in Canada and eastern USA

Also know as

Rock maple, hard maple, sugar maple, black maple

Timber you may like

  • American Red Oak

    Red Oak's heartwood resembles other oaks with a biscuit to pink colour, but has a reddish tinge. Mostly straight grained and coarse textured, with a less attractive figure than white oak due to smaller rays. Southern red oak has a more rapid growth than northern red oak and is harder, heavier and coarser textured. Weight about 770 kg/m³ (48 lb/ft³); specific gravity .77.

  • Western Red Alder

    Western Red Alder's heartwood is pale yellow to reddish-brown in colour. Fairly straight grained and of uniform texture; it shows a pleasing but subdued figure. Weight about 530 kg/m³ (33 lb/ft³); specific gravity .53.

  • American White Oak

    White Oak varies in colour from pale yellow-brown to biscuit with a pinkish tint, similar to European oak. Straight grain, with the characteristic silver grain on quartered material. Appalachian oak is slow grown producing light weight, mild wood, but southern states produce fast grown oak with wide growth rings, and a harder, tougher timber. Medium to coarse textured. Weight averages 760 kg/m³ (47 lb/ft³); specific gravity .76.

  • American Ash

    Greyish-brown in colour and slightly darker than the other species. This timber which remains consistently popular. Generally straight grained and coarse but even textured. weighs 670 kg/m³ (35 lb/ft³); specific gravity is .56.